 "Rahul hobnobbing with anti-India forces may be an act of ignorance, but does this suit a leader vying for PM’s post?")
The biggest story for India this week is its ascending economy which has clocked a growth rate of 7.2 percent in the fiscal year 2022-23. At a time when other major economies are struggling with low growth rates and ageing population, India’s economy has proved itself to be a rare pillar of resilience by outshining all existing forecasts and posting a 7+ rate of growth. As India continues to maintain its status as the world’s fastest growing major economy, the geopolitical implications of its rise are also being analysed world over.
India is not only the fifth largest economy, on way to become the third largest by the turn of this decade but also the largest democracy and a firm believer in rules-based international order. The image of India as a secular, liberal and democratic country is finally getting registered in the minds of global elites. A lot of credit also goes to an increasingly assertive China. Its aggressive postures and open challenge to international law and order is leading people to notice India as a better alternative. Unlike China, India is status-quoist in orientation as well as a formidable military power that can uphold rule of law in the Indo-Pacific region. Clearly, India’s geopolitical weight is set to increase in the global scheme of things.
But even as India’s global stature is rising, there is a whole lobby of haters who are trying to target India by throwing imaginary accusations at it. Their toolkits are many. Some of them are separatists who want India to be balkanised into many pieces. One set wants an independent state of Khalistan, another wants to exploit the north vs south divide. Then there are Leftists who are targeting big Indian businesses for providing Indian economy the much needed strategic strength. And finally there are Islamists who want to paint India as worse than Nazi Germany, a state that would settle for nothing less than complete annihilation of its minorities. All of them have a common war cry- Democracy in India is under attack.
Now it is not unusual for rising powers to be met with resistance from various quarters. When China was rising, it had faced a similar volley of attacks over environmental implications of its growth and its human rights record. However, India’s case is slightly complex. The problem with India is that there is no bipartisan consensus over its imminent rise. On one hand, there is a large section of people who are aspirational and want India’s democracy to remain robust, its economy to grow in leaps and bounds and its global status to elevate to greater heights. On the other hand, there is India’s political opposition that seems to want nothing but power for themselves. If their actions in the last nine years are observed closely, this is the conclusion one is most likely to draw.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsCurrently, Rahul Gandhi, scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, is on a tour to United States. His itinerary is dominated with events which have him dish out his favourite line these days that Indian democracy is under attack. He has so far shared space with people working with Soros-sponsored organisations who are hell-bent on inducing a regime-change in India and with Islamists such as the Indian American Muslim Council. Visuals of his engagement that have surfaced on the Internet even have people raising Khalistan flags with members of the audience not even bothering to stand up for the Indian national anthem.
Interestingly, research by many open source intelligence networks on Twitter have traced the organisers of Gandhi’s engagement events to Pakistan-based Jamaat-e-Islami and Muslim Brotherhood-linked fronts. One may give Rahul Gandhi a benefit of doubt for hobnobbing with classic anti-India forces as an act of ignorance. Probably he is too naive to not know the antecedents of the people he has engaged with. But does this naivety suit a leader who is being pitted as a choice to dethrone Prime Minister Modi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections? Not at all. This would be too risky.
India in the last decade has emerged to be fortune’s favourite. It has not only been able to tide over a global pandemic but it has also emerged unscathed from the food-fuel inflation induced by the long-drawn Russia-Ukraine war. Its foreign exchange reserves have hit historic highs and its stock markets have also shown a robust performance. India is well-placed to leverage its economic growth globally to emerge as the third largest economy at the end of this decade and a potential third pole in the next two-three decades.
With such a promising future ahead of India, it needs a leader who believes in the India story. It needs someone who understands the core values of India and can fire-fight India’s image abroad. It needs a leader who has a power of conviction in India’s destiny and can’t be misled by the anti-India forces. For too long, India has been gas-lighted into not taking strong actions in its own interests. The forces that send India on a guilt trip do that from a position of jealousy and not with an honest desire to transform India. The idea of a divided and lost India is too precious to them.
Clearly, India’s leaders must not touch these elements with even a barge pole. A good break in this direction has been Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His engagements abroad are dominated by an outreach to the business communities as well as the Indian diaspora. A growing Indian economy needs both — investments from developed economies as well as the influence of the diaspora communities. All his speeches contain a reference to his government’s flagship programmes such as Make in India and Digital India. He is often pitching India as the best investment destination and highlighting how the government has taken steps to make India business-friendly.
It is exactly this kind of engagement that India needs currently. Ideally, leaders of opposition must also do this because India’s future is above and beyond any low-level election cycle-driven politics. But looking at the Congress’ record in the last decade, my hopes are on negligible side.
The author is a PhD in International Relations from the Department of International Relations, South Asian University. Her research focuses on political economy of South Asia and regional integration. Views expressed are personal.
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